FISHERIES REGULATIONS 1992

• Commercial fishing licence holders across all eight declared fisheries.
• Fishing tour operators and vessel owners used in commercial fishing operations.
• Amateur fishers anywhere in NT waters and within the Exclusive Economic Zone where NT internal water boundaries apply.
• Fish processors, fish brokers, fish retailers, fish traders, and fish transport operators.
• Importers of live exotic fish or aquatic life.
• Aquaculture operators holding pearl oyster or other aquaculture licences.
• Holders of Commonwealth Act permits whose operations extend into NT internal waters.

Commercial licence holders must:

• Hold the specific licence for the declared fishery they fish in (e.g. CLF licence, ONLF licence, DF licence).
• Fish only within the declared area for that fishery (regs 77, 83, 96B, 103).
• Use only permitted gear for that fishery (e.g. regs 78, 84, 100, 107F).
• Hold sufficient quota units before commencing a voyage and not exceed the entitlement (regs 78K, 100C, 107N).
• Maintain VMS equipment in approved working order (regs 100A, 107KA).
• Not transfer fish between vessels at sea without authority (regs 100E, 107R).
• Submit landing and unloading notices within the required time (regs 100G, 107T, 107U).
• Weigh catch on approved calibrated scales (regs 100H, 107V, 100J).

Fish processors and traders must:

• Hold the appropriate processing or trade licence before processing fish for sale (reg 59).
• Comply with packaging and labelling requirements (regs 61, 62, 63).
• Not process fish in prohibited locations such as the Frances Bay Mooring Basin without approval (reg 66).

Amateur fishers must:

• Not exceed species-specific possession limits (regs 46AB, 46AC, 46B).
• Not exceed vessel possession limits where these apply (regs 46BAC, 46BAD).
• Use only permitted gear (reg 46).
• Retain molluscs in shell in the field (reg 46BA).
• Keep fillets of certain species separated from the carcass to enable size identification (reg 46C).

All persons must:

• Not take, possess, or move noxious species (regs 16, 17).
• Not take protected species (reg 10).
• Report any sighting of a noxious species to a Fisheries Inspector (reg 28A).
• Notify of any disease in fish, aquatic life, or fishing premises (reg 23).

The Director (or Joint Authority, for joint authority fisheries) holds broad discretionary powers:

• Granting, refusing, renewing, and cancelling licences and permits across all fishery types (regs 68, 96CB, 104, 105, 160, 161).
• Declaring and designating fishery areas and control areas.
• Approving or refusing the transfer of fishery units and quota units (regs 78R, 96CJ, 108).
• Determining total allowable catch (TAC) for each species group in each fishery (regs 78D, 96CE, 107A).
• Allocating quota units annually within the TAC constraint (regs 78F, 96CG, 107C).
• Issuing directions to specific licence holders to submit to compulsory monitoring (regs 78Q, 100L, 100N, 107Z).
• Prescribing, in consultation with the Minister, fees by Gazette notice (reg 206).
• Prescribing levies for the Northern Territory Seafood Council Incorporated (NTSCI) (reg 207).

The Minister may declare protection areas and Tiwi Islands restriction zones that impose additional fishing prohibitions (regs 10A, 10B).

The Disease and Pest Control Committee, established under regulation 19, advises on disease and pest control matters. The Committee may recommend declarations of control areas (reg 21), and the Director may then restrict or regulate all fishing within a control area (reg 22).

The penalty structure has two tiers:

Major offences (up to 170 penalty units) apply to the most serious breaches: taking protected or prohibited species (regs 9, 10, 10A), breaching noxious species prohibitions (reg 16, 17), fishing for sale in Kakadu National Park (reg 52), and most quota and VMS offences across the commercial fisheries.

Minor offences (40 or 20 penalty units) apply to gear, labelling, record-keeping, and general regulatory breaches.

General offences (reg 209) catch all other contraventions of the Regulations with a maximum of 20 penalty units.

Infringement notices may be issued for offences listed in Schedule 6, at the number of penalty units specified in that Schedule. An infringement notice allows the offender to pay the prescribed amount in lieu of prosecution.

Compulsory monitoring as enforcement is a notable feature: regulations 100M and 107Y require a licence holder convicted of, or served with an infringement notice for, certain offences to submit to continuous VMS monitoring for a specified period after that event, adding an ongoing compliance consequence beyond the penalty itself.

Licence renewals must be applied for within the time specified in regulation 48. Where a Director refuses to grant, renew, or approve a transfer, fees must be refunded (reg 206(3)).

Quota unit allocation occurs annually. The Joint Authority must allocate quota units for the ONLF and DF fisheries by the dates specified in regulations 96CG and 107C. Late allocation formulae apply where fees are outstanding at the time of allocation.

Undercatch carryover allows a fraction of unused quota units to be carried into the next licence year: the carryover is capped at 20% of the annual allocation in the formula at regulation 107D(2), calculated against the formula A = (AQ + BQ - TQ) x 0.2.

Overcatch triggers a deduction from the following year's quota allocation. The overcatch deduction formula requires the overcatch amount to be subtracted from the next year's allocation plus a 20% penalty loading (reg 96CI).

Transfer effective dates: transfers of fishery units and quota units take effect from the date the Director or Joint Authority approves the transfer (regs 78S, 96CK, reg 108 onwards).

Landing notices: for the ONLF, a prior landing notice must be submitted before unloading (reg 100G). For the DF, a prior landing notice under reg 107T is also required.

The Regulations expressly interact with several other instruments:

• Fisheries Act 1988 (NT): the parent Act. Licence conditions are imposed under the Act and the Regulations together.
• Commonwealth Fisheries Management Act 1991: Joint Authority fisheries (Off-shore Net and Line Fishery, Demersal Fishery) are declared under Commonwealth arrangements. Holders of Commonwealth Act permits may hold deemed Territory licences (reg 209A).
• Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: protected species under that Act may not be taken (reg 10).
• Government Agreements Act 1979: the Regulations cross-reference the Government Agreements Act in describing the legal status of the ratified Pearl Oyster Culture agreements.
• Infringement notice scheme: operates under section 46A of the Fisheries Act 1988 (NT).
• Northern Territory Seafood Council Incorporated: the NTSCI levy regime (reg 207) requires Ministerial consultation with that body.

Priority species regime (Division 3A, reg 28AA): fish of priority species are subject to specific additional restrictions beyond ordinary possession limits. The concept of a priority species can shift based on Gazette declarations, and failing to check current declarations before fishing is a real risk.

Tiwi Islands restriction zones (reg 10B): fishing in Tiwi Islands restriction zones is prohibited unless expressly authorised. The zones are declared by the Minister and may not correspond to standard fishery area maps.

VMS operational obligations: VMS equipment must be maintained in working order at all times during a voyage. Even a temporary technical failure that the operator does not immediately report may constitute an offence. After an infringement notice or conviction for certain offences, compulsory monitoring kicks in automatically under regulations 100M and 107Y.

Quota unit allocation timing: quota units must be held before the start of a voyage, not acquired en route. Regulations 78H, 100C, and 107L are strict: starting a voyage without sufficient quota units is an offence even if quota is later acquired.

No fish on vessel at voyage start (regs 78J, 107M): for CLF Western Zone and DF voyages, no fish (of the relevant species) may be on board at the start of the voyage. A vessel that has fish left over from a previous trip may be in breach before fishing begins.

Deemed licences do not transfer: regulation 209A(4) expressly provides that a deemed licence arising from a Commonwealth permit cannot be transferred under section 16A of the Act.

Infringement notice offences override prosecution in specific cases: Schedule 6 specifies which offences attract infringement notices. However, not all offences under the Regulations appear in Schedule 6, so some breaches can only be prosecuted.

Scenario 1: Amateur lobster fisher exceeds possession limit. Under regulation 46A, the amateur possession limit for tropical rock lobsters is specified in kilograms. A fisher who takes more than the daily limit, even if caught and released on the same trip, is in breach and faces a maximum of 40 penalty units. If the overage is caught on a vessel, the vessel possession limit under Division 3 of Part 5 also applies independently.

Scenario 2: Commercial DF licence holder starts a voyage short on quota units. Regulation 107L requires minimum quota units to be held at voyage start. If the holder starts a voyage with fewer quota units than required, the offence is complete at the moment of departure, even if no fish are caught. The maximum penalty is 170 penalty units.

Scenario 3: Quota unit transfer refused because fees are outstanding. Under regulation 107C(5), the Joint Authority must not allocate quota units to a DF licence while fees are due. A commercial operator who lets fees lapse at allocation time loses their allocation window and must wait until fees are paid, at which point the allocation is backdated in calculation but not in time.

Scenario 4: Exotic fish import without a permit. Regulation 25 requires a permit to trade in or release live exotic fish or aquatic life. A person who acquires live non-native fish (for example, a species on Schedule 1) without a permit commits an offence. If the species is on the noxious species list, the prohibition in regulation 16 also applies, with a maximum penalty of 170 penalty units.

Scenario 5: Amateur fisher fillets barramundi at the boat ramp. Regulation 46C requires certain fillets to be kept separate from the carcass to allow verification of size. Processing barramundi into skinless, boneless fillets before leaving the fishing area could make it impossible to verify the fish met minimum size requirements, constituting a breach.